Completely biased reviews and fangirling

Review: Money Flower

Interesting characters brought to life by excellent actors; a compelling backstory; great pacing; assured handling; immersive, consuming music. All of these elements come together to make Money Flower an addictive, cracktastic journey, from start to finish. Show stays gripping through to its final stretch, and even resolves its revenge story in a satisfying manner. That’s impressive stuff all-around, which makes it easy to forgive Show its few flaws.

I used to think that revenge melos were simply not my thing, since I hadn’t liked any of the ones that I’d seen. Invariably, the shows had a tendency to lose steam and logic, especially towards the end. Add on the fact that I generally find revenge a pretty dark and heavy topic that I prefer not to spend my leisure hours immersed in, and it seemed perfectly reasonable to me, that I steer clear of any and all dramas that touted revenge as its main theme.

Given that starting point, it’s all the more startling, that I found myself very quickly and very thoroughly immersed in Money Flower. Essentially, watching this drama felt like watching a very languidly seductive, sensuous dance.

I simply could. not. look. away. Dang.

STUFF I LOVED

1. Overall execution

The thing that stands out most to me, with this show, is just how assured the execution is. Unlike many other dramas that tend to cycle in place in spots, and have filler scenes in spots, Money Flower always felt like it had somewhere concrete to go, and knew exactly how to get there.

I liked that Show starts right in the thick of the action, instead of with the typical childhood backstory that many melos start with, and then takes its time to reveal key pieces of information as the story unfolds.

Pacing

The pacing of our story feels fast and tight. [SPOILER] For example, we begin episode 3 with Mo Hyun and Boo Cheon (Park Se Young and Jang Seung Jo) meeting by accident in the cafe, spend the majority of our episode watching them dive into the deep end of a romance, and end the episode with Mo Hyun stunned by the revelation of Boo Cheon’s true chaebol identity. [END SPOILER] There generally is very little sense of drag in this drama world, and that’s a good thing.

At the same time, despite the tight pacing, Show has a strikingly unruffled and controlled feel to it. Even when things in our story feel like they are rising up to a crescendo, there is a consistent distinct feeling of languid unhurriedness about Show itself. I liked that a whole lot.

Cliffhangers

Additionally, I consistently felt like Show was keeping me on my toes, with each cliffhanger. I often was curious to know what happened next, and I often had no idea how Show would resolve its own cliffhanger. [SPOILER] For example, at the end of episode 6, I was curious to know the result of the DNA test, and while I felt like Pil Joo would’ve probably taken care of the matter ahead of time, I just couldn’t for the life of me figure out how.[END SPOILER] That steady feeling that Show was smarter than me, was a really good one. I always felt like Show was taking me on a rollercoaster, and I felt like I could feel secure in Show’s confidence, while I simply enjoyed the thrill of the ride.

Music

One of the most outstanding things to me, in the overall execution, is the use of music in this show. Mad kudos to the music PD, the application of the music is all very deliberate, and very, very savvy. The music – generally not complete songs, but mostly repeated riffs and instrumentals – swirls into the scene at hand, often increasing in tempo and volume, and thus bringing the emotions of the scene to a pin-point pinnacle, both for the characters and the viewers. It’s immersive, dizzying stuff, and really works to suck you in. I loved it.

Consistency & Intensity

With many dramas, the story starts to sag at some point or another. In particular, a high-tension type of story like this usually suffers because the drama is unable to sustain the dramatic tension through to the end. Not so with Money Flower.

One of the things that really impressed me with this show, is how Show maintains – and even increases! – the sense of dramatic tension, as we get into the later stretch. That’s pretty amazing, considering how Show is not short on dramatic tension even in its early episodes. What a treat, to get to Show’s later episodes, and feel like Show is actually becoming more exciting and delicious.

A compellingly dark drama world

Show does an excellent job of creating and fleshing out a twisty, dark drama world where there is dysfunction everywhere you look. What I appreciate, is that Show does this with a fairly restrained hand. Everything is more quietly chilling, than dramatically scary.

[SPOILER] A great example is in episode 14. Everyone scheming to kill everyone comes to a head this episode, with Pil Joo, Mo Hyun and Boo Cheon all in danger by episode’s end. Near the end of the episode, as the music begins to swirl, we see rolling shots of Yoo Cheon and his dad (Kang Sung and Sun Woo Jae Duk), and Mal Ran (Lee Mi Sook), and Grandpa Chairman (Lee Soon Jae), all silently, separately, sitting in the dark, waiting expectantly for news of successful death-causing. It all feels very deliberately and efficiently laid out. These are clearly messed up characters living in a messed up reality, and Show portrays this so well, without having to say very much at all. [END SPOILER]

Jang Hyuk is the reason that I even considered dipping my previously-revenge-melo-burned toes into Money Flower. Many thanks to my dear pal Drama Fan, who took the time and trouble to persuade me that Jang Hyuk is just so magnificent in this, that I really shouldn’t miss out.

For the record, I used to think that Chuno was hands-down Jang Hyuk’s most iconic work (he is so, so breathtaking in Chuno!), and that nothing would even come close, to that level of brilliance, badassery, or sexy. Guess I was wrong, you guys. Coz it’s very possible that Jang Hyuk’s performance in this, actually tops his amazing turn in Chuno.

As a character, I found Pil Joo endlessly fascinating and completely mesmerizing. It’s thanks in equal part to the writing and to Jang Hyuk’s fantastic performance. Writer-nim created Pil Joo to be an imperfect, yet perfectly captivating character, and Jang Hyuk capably brought out Pil Joo’s various layers and facets. Altogether spellbinding, I say.

Here are some of the things about Pil Joo, that stood out to me.

He has personal power

One of the first things I noticed about Pil Joo, is that he feels powerful. Even though he is widely acknowledged as the Jang family’s dog, he is far more shrewd and resourceful than the people he actually reports to. He is measured, restrained, and calculated. He never seems flustered or rushed; he always looks like he has everything under complete control. There is smolder in his gaze, and he oozes confidence and charisma. Pil Joo often commanded my undivided attention, purely by the strength of his personal magnetism.

[SPOILER] One of the scenes that really stood out to me, is in episode 15, when Pil Joo is in the coma. He’s not powerless, even while he’s asleep. It feels like he’s a sleeping tiger while everyone else feels like headless chickens, without him to direct everything. And then, the moment he awakes, he moves to action; slowly, deliberately, like he’s a prowling panther. It’s mesmerizing just watching him put on his suit to go into battle. [END SPOILER]

He’s shrewd & well-prepared

Very quickly into my watch, it occurred to me that Pil Joo is a strategist; he doesn’t have formal hierarchical power, and bows down to the person whom he has agreed to put on the metaphorical throne, but he is shrewd, uber well-prepared, and completely unruffled and unhurried as he moves people into place – as well as off the board – as needed. He is intimately acquainted not only with the larger picture, but also the intricate details, and he controls it all. Augh. It reminded me of watching Mei Chang Su in action in Nirvana In Fire, and I was fully enthralled.

Consistently, we see that shrewdness unveiled, facet by facet, as Pil Joo demonstrates again and again, how he’s planned ahead and taken care of every single detail, in order to achieve the result that he set out to achieve.

[SPOILER] A great example of Pil Joo’s preparedness, is in episode 18. The moment he realizes that Boo Cheon had done a DNA test on him, he moves first. It’s clearly not the time he’d originally planned to reveal his identity, but he’s shrewd enough to know that he must strike first, and he just goes and does it, without batting an eye. The scene of him putting on the necklace and getting dressed, is so unhurried and calm. He’s completely unruffled and intentional, even though this is a course of action that is being provoked by Boo Cheon. I just can’t help but be impressed. [END SPOILER]

He’s got a lot of heart

As messed up as Pil Joo is, as a result of his extremely dysfunctional childhood and subsequent adult life, and as controlled and smart and shrewd as he is, he also consistently demonstrates that he has a lot of heart.

[SPOILER] We see it in the way he tenderly and wistfully cradles his father’s memorial picture. We see it in the sheen of tears in his eyes, when he’s broken the rib of the man who killed his baby brother. We see it, in the tortured wistful gazes that he keeps wearing, in Mo Hyun’s direction. And we see it, in the way he consistently shows mercy to Seo Won (Han So Hee) and her son, every time Mal Ran instructs him to get rid of the offending mother and child.

One of the moments in our story, when I felt I was truly looking at Pil Joo’s ripped up heart, is in episode 10, when he reacts to the sight of the body of his little brother. The love, regret and sorrow that he feels, is so clear to see. The tears shimmering in his eyes, reflecting the moonlight, look so poetic and so sad. And the cries that Pil Joo lets out, as he holds his brother’s remains, clothed by the coat off his own back, are so mournful, anguished, and heartwrenchingly powerful. [END SPOILER]

He’s controlled

At all times, and in all things, Pil Joo shows a great deal of restraint and control. I love how unruffled Pil Joo is; he is the epitome of cool.

[SPOILER] In episode 8, even in the face of discovering that Boo Cheon isn’t actually his blood brother, he manages to keep a fairly unreadable expression, and withdraws to think only for a short while, before being put together enough to face Mal Ran as if nothing happened.

And then in episode 18, when Pil Joo reveals his identity to Chairman Gramps, his conduct and demeanor is impeccable; he’s irreproachably polite, respectful and steady. And the single tear that escapes his eye, as he finishes his first official bow as Cheong A’s eldest grandson, is the only hint that this is a Big Deal, for him. I feel like there is so much emotion that Pil Joo has buried in his heart, that there is a hidden reservoir within, that we can only imagine the depths of. And yet, on the surface, all we can see, is steady decorum. So impressive. [END SPOILER]

He kicks ass

I truly love watching Jang Hyuk unleash his Master Level Fight Skillz, and it pleased me greatly, that we got to see Pil Joo in action, not once, but twice. As always, Jang Hyuk kills it, and Pil Joo’s Cool Quotient got bumped up even more, in my eyes.

[SPOILER] In episode 2, Pil Joo steps in to protect Mo Hyun from the 2 drunk guys, and the way he fights is Freaking Hot. So swift, effortless and matter-of-fact. And all done in a sharp suit too. Swoon. And to have that all juxtaposed immediately with him gently piggybacking her home? Double swoon.

And then, in episode 16, Pil Joo kicks ass again, when he takes down the 4 guys guarding Seo Won. He is so swift, precise and matter-of-fact. I love that he just rolls up a magazine as he saunters slowly into the place, and then just knocks them all out without even breaking a sweat. So dang cool. ❤ [END SPOILER]

He plays by his own rules

Perhaps one of the coolest things about Pil Joo, is how he plays by his own rules, even when it means disregarding the etiquette that he is expected to keep.

[SPOILER] There’s a moment in episode 14 that I just love. Yoo Cheon enters Pil Joo’s office, and condescendingly asks Pil Joo for a briefing on what his Plan B is, for Cheong A Tower. Pil Joo looks him in the eye, and simply replies, “I don’t want to.” He doesn’t even try to make excuses or come up with some cover story. He just flat out states, “I don’t want to,” and I love it. [END SPOILER]

Why do we root for Pil Joo? [SPOILERS]

One of the questions one might ask, is why one would root for Pil Joo, considering that he appears to be as scheming, crafty and morally ambiguous as the people in Cheong A that he’s working to take down.

For me personally, I think I root for Pil Joo because he’s on the defensive, while the people in Cheong A are on the offensive. In every good story, a good antagonist always helps, and in this story, the Cheong A people – especially Mal Ran and Chairman Gramps – are very well fleshed-out as antagonists. They were the ones who basically ruined Pil Joo’s life.

If Cheong A had just left him and his brother and mother alone, he wouldn’t be scheming against anyone. It doesn’t make Pil Joo righteous, certainly, and it doesn’t absolve him of the morally shady things he’s done either. But the context creates sympathy for Pil Joo, and I feel for him.

My sympathy for Pil Joo, combined with how distasteful and disgusting I found Chairman Gramps and Mal Ran in their casual murderous decisions, put me firmly on Pil Joo’s side.

One of the things I learned during my watch, is that Jang Hyuk is best appreciated in motion. There were more than several occasions when Jang Hyuk was on my screen, and I thought, “Wow, he’s amazing,” or “Gosh, he’s hot,” and tried to get a screenshot of the awesome. When I paused for the shot, though, I found that mostly, the screenshot just didn’t do him justice. Conclusion: Jang Hyuk is glorious in motion, and you just need to see him in motion, to properly appreciate how fantastic he is.

In this section, I’m gonna highlight a few examples of Jang Hyuk’s amazing acting prowess. Just bear in mind, that these stills don’t even tell half of the story.

[SPOILER ALERT]

1. Emotions surging under his skin

There is a scene in episode 3 that is quite fleeting, but which sticks in my mind for the seriously impressive control Jang Hyuk has, over his microexpressions.

Early one morning, Boo Cheon announces gleefully to Pil Joo, that he plans to sleep with Mo Hyun that night. Pil Joo smiles impassively as he gets into the car, but once the door is shut, his expression contorts with emotion. What’s impressive about this is, it’s not a full-on explosion of emotions; it feels like there is a full tsunami of emotions going on, on the inside, and it’s barely held in by the sheer force of his willpower. That tamped down, barely held-in wave of emotion, that literally strains his features at the seams, is what we see. We literally see those emotions surging under his skin. And then in just a matter of seconds, the moment passes, and Pil Joo’s expression returns to its previously impassive state. Just, masterful.

2. “You’re not wrong.”

In episode 15, Jang Hyuk gives another masterful performance, in the scene where Mo Hyun confronts Pil Joo about his feelings for her.

Pil Joo is all decorum and control on the surface, but there is a subtle sheen of tears in his eyes, that betray the emotions that run beneath. His words are businesslike and distant, but as the moment wears on, the sheen of tears become just that little bit more apparent, and we can just tell, that he isn’t telling the truth when he says that he’s long put aside any feelings that he had for her. So much subtext communicated, with so little overt expression. Impressive indeed.

3. The childlike gaze

One of the things that I found especially affecting, is a particular look that Pil Joo tends to wear, especially when he’s facing Mal Ran. It’s so clear-eyed and innocent, that I feel like I’m looking upon his inner child. I believe that’s exactly what Show is trying to convey; that beneath the shrewd, precise advisor, there is an innocent child. I love that Jang Hyuk is able to express that so effectively, simply through his gaze. Kudos.

[END SPOILER]

3. Lee Mi Sook as Jung Mal Ran

Although I can’t say that Mal Ran is likable as a character, I definitely feel that she is a fascinating one. Lee Mi Sook plays Mal Ran with a gentility, elegance and sophistication that is quite regal, and underneath it, she imbues Mal Ran with a vulnerability that occasionally shows through.

Yes, Mal Ran is an antagonist in our story, and her sense of self-righteousness and vulnerability are completely misplaced. Importantly, though, it’s clear that she believes her own twisted logic, that from beginning to end, she behaved in an appropriate and acceptable manner.

I will admit that I was more fascinated with Mal Ran in the earlier episodes than in the later ones. As I got deeper into the show, I found myself starting to disdain her somewhat.

[SPOILER ALERT]

The reason I disdained Mal Ran

I’d used to think that all the hand-touching, and soft-female-relying-on-strong-man sort of thing that she was doing with Pil Joo was rooted in a true appreciation for him, and a genuine dependency and vulnerability. But, in episode 7, we see that she’s exactly the same with Secretary Oh (Park Jung Hak) – when she wants him to kill people. From the flashback in episode 7, it’s clear that that’s exactly how she used to treat Secretary Oh, when they were younger. He had been to her, all that Pil Joo is to her now.

With this side-by-side comparison, it becomes clear that Mal Ran’s modus operandi is to use her womanly charm to make her male aides feel like they are important to her, and to get them to do what she wants, even when it’s murder. On top of that, it seems that with Pil Joo rising up to be such a strong right-hand man, she’s semi-retired Secretary Oh to a corner, only to be called upon when she needs stuff done that she wants kept from Pil Joo. That feels extra cruel, considering how she’d manipulated Secretary Oh’s feelings.

Therefore, I couldn’t help but snigger a little bit, when Mal Ran rants in episode 17, that there is not one man that she is satisfied with, in Mooshimwon. Snerk. That is so telling, in terms of the kind of person she is, and how she depends on her womanly wiles to get the men around her to do her bidding and help her achieve her goals.

To put it very bluntly, it felt to me like Mal Ran made it a habit to pimp herself out to her male aides to get what she wanted. I just couldn’t respect her for that.

The extent of Mal Ran’s dysfunction

The further I progressed in my watch, the more I saw of the extent of Mal Ran’s personal brand of twisted crazy. Essentially, things got so dysfunctional that it felt surreal.

I feel that the instance that best showcases Mal Ran’s dysfunction, is in episode 20.

We see Mal Ran sobbing on her own in the car, after sending Secretary Oh away of her own volition, and it occurs to me that she doesn’t want him to go; that she has some affection for him, but she is doing it to protect Boo Cheon.

At this point, it also occurred to me that her scheming to place Boo Cheon as Chairman of Cheong A, could be a revenge scheme too, rather than a pure quest for power. Her husband had cheated on her with another woman, and the people of Cheong A group had probably all tried to manipulate her in all their power struggles as well. With Cheong A basically robbing her of any kind of truly happy life, I figured this could be her own way of really sticking it to them – by putting her own son on their throne, a son who doesn’t even have the blood of the Jang family running through his veins.

But then I realized that Mal Ran had actually poisoned Secretary Oh. Poor Secretary Oh, who’d devoted his entire life to her, because he’d been smitten with her. He’d let her seduce him, and then had followed her orders to murder innocent children, even though his conscience would be forever stricken, and then he’d obediently drunk the poisoned coffee, like a lamb being led to slaughter – by the very object of his undying affection. Shudder.

It makes everything even worse, that the “letter” that Mal Ran had placed in Secretary Oh’s breast pocket, which she’d instructed him to read only after he’d left for China, was actually his faked suicide note, designed to be found on his dead body, once the poison had taken effect. Plus, she’d hired assassins to watch over him to finish the deed, in case he didn’t end up drinking the poisoned coffee. Ugh.

The air between Pil Joo and Mal Ran is.. interesting, to say the least. Lee Mi Sook and Jang Hyuk share an electric kind of chemistry, and Show capitalizes on that quite a bit.

Right away in episode 1, we see that officially she is his master, and he, the servant. But, unofficially, he offers her guidance, wisdom and support that one would expect more from an equal than a subordinate. Plus, there are hints of a romantic kind of tension that peek out at times. Like the way he put his jacket on her shoulders the moment he got out of jail, saying to the driver that he shouldn’t have brought her because it was cold. And the way he is allowed near when no one else is, when she is in despair. Also, it shows up in her tone and her manner, like the way she treats him so preciously when he was released from jail.

Show is coy about the true nature of their relationship, but we see with increasing certainty, that the tension between Mal Ran and Pil Joo has many sexual shades to it. Show isn’t ever terribly overt about it, but we get enough clues to arrive at, shall we say, a reasonable conclusion.

[SPOILER ALERT]

The circumstantial evidence

In episode 2, we see that Pil Joo does have a special relationship with Mal Ran; he is the one whom others look to, to comfort her, when something terrible happens. It’s revealed in such an unhurried way too; the way he enters the room deliberately and slowly; the way he wraps his handkerchief around her hand, scratched bloody; the way he slowly takes her into his arms; the way she leans her head on his shoulder and allows the tears to flow, as she holds him back. It feels like a rather torrid, dark pantomime, as the nature of this relationship unfolds, while we finally understand, simultaneously through flashback, the backstory behind how they are related.

In episode 8, we get Show’s most.. definitive piece of evidence, regarding this relationship. We see that Pil Joo has the kind of relationship with Mal Ran where he can open her bedroom door, even when she doesn’t respond to his knocking. That says a lot. Mal Ran wordlessly asking him to stay, also says a lot. The following shot of the door clicking shut, also says a lot. I’m pretty sure that we are supposed to believe that from this point onwards, Mal Ran is getting Pil Joo to share her bed.

The most electrifying scene

The closing scene where Pil Joo reveals his identity to Mal Ran at the end of episode 20 is truly breathtaking. Even though I’d come across a spoiler for how the scene was done, that didn’t prepare me at all, for how absolutely sensual the scene is, and how many conflicting emotions pervade the entire scene.

The scene starts with her happy expectancy, met with his cordial welcome, and that soon evolves into a completely sensual sort of dance, where Pil Joo takes Mal Ran in his arms, and growl-whispers each slow syllable next to her ear, from what feels like the deepest recesses of his throat. He takes his time with each slow caress of his arms, and each languid phrase he exhales from his lips, and the entire vibe is that of a man getting ready to make love to a woman.

All of her senses must feel tantalizingly awakened yet altogether drunk at the same time, from the seduction of his embrace – only for the entire moment to culminate, not in a sensuous kiss, but in the savored moment of his murmured reveal: he is the very Jang Eun Cheon that she’d been trying to get rid of all these years. The scene peaks, with her drowning intoxicated senses struggling to wake up to and comprehend the horror of his words, while he continues to languidly smirk into her eyes.

The official loveline in this show is between Pil Joo and Mo Hyun, and the treatment of the loveline is decidedly muted. So if you were hoping for an overt romance between the OTP like in Nice Guy, you’d be disappointed. There are many complications that keep Pil Joo and Mo Hyun apart, so much so that it feels wrong to even refer to them as the OTP of this show.

That said, I did feel like Pil Joo and Mo Hyun shared pretty good chemistry, and there were certain scenes where I thought their chemistry was excellent. In the mid-teen episodes in particular, I found the tension between them pretty palpable. There isn’t any hanky-panky going on; all they do is talk when they are alone together. But whenever Boo Cheon or Mal Ran walks in on them, it feels like an intrusion on a private moment.

Here’s the quick spotlight on two instances that felt especially pertinent, in this muted loveline.

[SPOILER ALERT]

The confession scene

The scene of Pil Joo telling Mo Hyun everything in episode 17, is sad. It feels like he’s getting ready to be sent to the slaughterhouse, particularly when he tells her that when she knows everything, she will regret having saved him. That’s harsh, and that shows how Pil Joo feels about himself, deep down.

Mo Hyun then turning the slaps from his face to her own, is an interesting twist that I didn’t expect. It shows the introspective kind of person Mo Hyun is; she looks at herself quite quickly, to see if any blame should be assigned to her own self, instead of instinctively piling all the blame on someone else.

And then, the scene culminates in a single, brief hug. It’s so little, on paper, but in execution, it feels full of dramatic tension and emotional depth. There are so many feelings that run so deep in both of them, and that includes feelings of deep care for each other. The moment that Pil Joo puts his arms around Mo Hyun and holds her, feels momentous.

The goodbye scene

In episode 19, the goodbye scene between Mo Hyun and Pil Joo is so thick with emotion.

Mo Hyun articulating the things that have gone unsaid between them, telling him that no matter how much he denies it, she knows how much he loves her. Her telling him she wanted to tell him to leave with her, but won’t, because she doesn’t understand the extent of his pain. Her walking up to him, and kissing him. Him, just letting her kiss him. And as she turns to walk away, he reaches for her hand, and as she turns back to look at him, he gives her this Look, and all I can see in his face, is the gaze of someone who’s willingly being left behind to die, looking upon the one he loves, who gets to leave him and live.

Augh. So intense.

[END SPOILER]

NECESSARY EVIL

Lee Soon Jae as Chairman Gramps

Aside from Mal Ran, our story’s other major antagonist is Chairman Gramps, and boy, does he fill the evil quotient well. The deeper I got into show’s run, the more astounded I found myself feeling, at Chairman Gramps’ self-righteous lack of morality.

As much as I hated him, though, I definitely appreciated his presence in our story, because when push came to shove, Chairman Gramps was a worthy adversary for Pil Joo. Pil Joo and Chairman Gramps felt like equally matched opponents, and that made this show’s later episodes more exciting than I’d originally expected – which we’ll talk more about later.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Here are just a handful of times when Chairman Gramps shocked me with his twisted way of thinking.

E18. Chairman Gramps actually disdaining Mal Ran for not being able to make Mo Hyun follow in her father’s footsteps. Meaning that he’s essentially berating Mal Ran for not killing Mo Hyun.

E18. Chairman Gramps’ blatant denial and self-righteousness in the face of the incriminating recording. He behaves as if Mo Hyun is the one at fault, for having the gall to play the recording. Like, how dare she be so rude, to even question his judgment?

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t love Mo Hyun as a character, and I also felt like Park Se Young’s interpretation and delivery of her character, fell on the bland side of things.

Other than the fact that she’s the woman at the center of the dysfunctional love triangle involving Boo Cheon and Pil Joo, and is the object of Pil Joo’s wonderfully tortured wistful gazes, she wasn’t interesting to me in and of herself. To my eyes, Mo Hyun wore a slightly blank stare quite a lot of the time, and also seemed a little ditzy on occasion. I rationalized that perhaps Park Se Young purposely played Mo Hyun that way in order to create room for character turnaround later.

On the upside, there are moments in Show’s mid-to-late stretch where Mo Hyun showed more steel and therefore seemed more interesting to me. On the downside, it appeared to me that by Show’s end, we’d returned to a version of Mo Hyun that felt almost as bland as when we started out.

[SPOILER ALERT]

In the spirit of remembering the better things, here’s the quick spotlight on the times when Mo Hyun showed some steel.

E13. Mo Hyun uses Boo Cheon’s birth secret against Mal Ran, and Mal Ran gets so angry in response, that she throws a vase in frustration. That was satisfying to watch.

E20. Mo Hyun basically tells Mal Ran to mind her manners, and that she was going ahead with the divorce anyway. That was pretty great.

As much as I enjoyed Money Flower as a whole, Show did have a handful of imperfections, to my eyes.

Certain developments didn’t feel very organic, and occasionally, Show’s logic wasn’t at its strongest, and therefore, at those times, suspension of disbelief was required in somewhat unreasonable servings.

Here’s a quick list, for the record.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E4. The relationship between Mo Hyun and Boo Cheon moves so fast that it’s hard to really believe that it’s real. First, she rejects Boo Cheon because she finds out the truth. But then, when Boo Cheon shows up with the cover story that Pil Joo has prepared, the next thing we know, she’s allowing Boo Cheon to kiss her, and then, immediately, we see her visiting his family, and Chairman Gramps is already pronouncing when the wedding will take place. That whole thing didn’t feel natural to me.

E4. I found it an interesting twist, that it was Pil Joo who had revealed the truth about his and Boo Cheon’s identities to Mo Hyun. However, I find it hard to believe that Pil Joo would have done that, in a so-called moment of weakness. From what we have been shown, Pil Joo seems way more in control of his emotions than that. Even if he had chosen to reveal the truth to her, he would have done so in a much more deliberate manner, and he would’ve had a plan, and he wouldn’t have backed away from it, like he eventually ended up doing, once Mal Ran had reminded him of his past. That plot twist felt out of character for Pil Joo, and felt like it was put in there more for the shock factor.

E4. It’s hard to believe that when young Pil Joo had tried to stab Mal Ran, that she had reacted so calmly to it. Who does that?

E13. It’s a stretch that there are more than 1,000 recordings in Congressman Na’s handphone. How much memory does he have on that thing?

E16. There’s a bit of suspension of disbelief required around Pil Joo managing to move Congressman Na back into his family home without anyone noticing. I mean, he’s a comatose invalid hooked up to a machine and a drip – how did they get him into the house without the neighbors noticing? I rationalize that they must’ve done so in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep, but still, it’s a stretch.

[END SPOILERS]

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE

With this drama, I often feel like Show’s got me wound around its little finger, and that Show’s just taking its time, to wind me tighter and tighter around that finger, until I feel just about ready to snap. This entire episode felt like that, which is supremely impressive.

Most shows spend the penultimate episode simply moving things and people into place for the finale, and often, it feels like nothing much happens in the penultimate episode. Not so this penultimate episode. I feel like Show stepped further and faster than I expected it to, and it was such a thrill, to feel like Show is so daring and so sure in its footing, right down to the very last second.

[SPOILER ALERT]

I didn’t expect Mal Ran to use the secret of Boo Cheon’s birth – a card that Pil Joo’s holding against her – to her own advantage. She’s taking a shot to her own leg, in hopes that the shot will take down Pil Joo, while only injuring her. It’s crazy, and brilliant, and messed-up, and completely arresting. I couldn’t look away, this entire episode.

The poisoned champagne fakeout is also brilliant. I mean, trust Pil Joo to actually troll Mal Ran by acting like the poison’s taking effect – when the poison had been swopped out for a harmless substance, long before Mal Ran dropped it into the champagne flutes. Show even takes the chance to showcase Jang Hyuk’s staggering acting chops; not that I needed further convincing. What a great piece of meta, to have Jang Hyuk asking, “How was my acting?” (Your acting’s completely masterful, Jang Hyuk-sshi.)

And then, just as the dramatic tension is broken by the poison fakeout reveal, in comes Boo Cheon aiming his rifle right at Pil Joo, at close range – and he shoots.

Guh. I had no clue how Show was going to resolve this next episode, but I couldn’t wait to find out.

This is quite possibly the most exciting penultimate episode of a drama that I’ve seen, ever.

Let me just preface this section by saying that I had mixed expectations, going into this finale.

On the one hand, I hadn’t ever met an ending to a revenge melo that I actually found satisfying. On the other hand, Money Flower had shown itself to be pretty different from any other revenge melo I’d ever seen. Could this show actually serve up a satisfying conclusion to its story, while still adhering to the (unspoken?) guideline, for Korean broadcasters to uphold values – such as justice, family and forgiveness – traditionally held dear by Korean society?

The short answer is, I think Show did a pretty solid job.

First, let me get the downsides out of the way.

There were several things in this finale that I didn’t like so much.

For example, while the explanation for the fakeout poisoning in the beginning of the episode was good, the entire shooting bit was changed. The same scene at the end of episode 23 had been edited to make us believe that it was Boo Cheon who’d shot the rifle. But in this episode, we see that it was Pil Joo who shot the rifle. That felt a lot less clever than Show had previously shown itself to be, and Show lost some brownie points with me on this one. It didn’t feel clever; rather, it felt like cheating, and I really didn’t like that.

Additionally, I didn’t feel Pil Joo’s stabbing towards the end of the episode was necessary, especially since it changed absolutely nothing about how Pil Joo’s story ended. It feels like Show just put it in there, to scare us a little bit, with the thought that Pil Joo might die, after having come so far in his journey. Add on the fact that we very quickly then see Pil Joo alive and well, and the stabbing felt gratuitous and redundant. That didn’t make Show appear any smarter to me, and in fact, had the opposite effect of losing Show another brownie point in my books.

I personally didn’t like that Mal Ran was written as losing her mind, even though I rationalize that she’s become a prisoner of her own mind, which in itself is a punishment. But, I also wanted Mal Ran to be completely present in her right mind, while she paid the price for all that she’d done. It just seemed like she got off sorta easy, with the fairly cushy hospital room, and the freedom to dress up, do her hair and wear makeup, and role-play at leisure with the male nurse. I’d rather have watched a scene of her in her right mind, sharing a cell with other inmates, having to eat humble pie in front of seasoned cell-mates who didn’t know or care who she was. That would’ve felt more satisfying to me.

On the upside, I like where we leave the loveline between Pil Joo and Mo Hyun. There is no happy-ever-after together for these two, but there is closure, liberation, and a quiet satisfaction, that they each don’t owe the other anything more, and will continue to care for each other – from a respectful distance. Later in the episode, we see that it is Mo Hyun who draws Pil Joo out of seclusion, to interview for a CEO position within the Cheong A group. With this turn of events, signs point to a future where their paths will likely continue to cross.

In my eyes, this is the best outcome I could have asked for, for these two. After all that has happened, it feels inappropriate to paint a picture of togetherness for Pil Joo and Mo Hyun. With this ending, respect is given all around; there isn’t an inappropriate happy ending on our screens, but their feelings for each other are duly acknowledged, and we see that they will likely have opportunities in the future, to continue to watch over each other. That feels sufficient, for me.

Boo Cheon cutting ties with Pil Joo feels appropriate as well; so much has happened between them, that it would be impossible for them to continue being friends or associates. Rather than them becoming enemies, I was content that they chose to become strangers instead.

I was rather sad that Yong Goo (Ryu Dam) cut ties with Pil Joo, though. After all, theirs was a friendship that dates way back, and in effect, feels more like a brotherhood than anything else. I rationalize that perhaps Pil Joo and Yong Goo have been through so much toxic stuff together, that perhaps Yong Goo prefers to just leave those memories behind and start over.

There is deep care and love between these two, though, and I would have much preferred to have seen Pil Joo and Yong Goo leaving together, and becoming hermits together, in Gapyeong. I can imagine these two fishing together, chopping wood together, and just hanging out together. In my head, they’d be chuckling as they ribbed each other, and their eyes would be clear and their shoulders unburdened.

In my eyes, the absolute highlight of the finale, is how Show resolves Pil Joo’s revenge. There is no cop-out; the schemers at Cheong A are brought to justice, and they all serve prison sentences for their crimes. Pil Joo serves time as well, for the crimes that he has committed in service of his revenge. That feels fair and just, and also, it gives Pil Joo a way to pay a price for his misdeeds, and satisfy his conscience.

Just because he is successful at taking down the Jangs, doesn’t mean that the societal value of justice is rejected. It is precisely because Pil Joo pays society’s prescribed price for his wrongs, that he earns a second chance at life in that very same society.

Personally, I kinda love that Pil Joo – or rather Eun Cheon – gets to show the world all over again, just how capable and amazing he is – this time, with revenge removed from the equation, and proudly bearing his own name.

I mean, he’s just too awesome and talented to be wasted as a hermit, right?

193 thoughts on “Review: Money Flower”

First of all, allow me to hug myself one more time for convincing you to watch it. Although as I recall all I had to say was “Jang Hyuk is sexier than ever in this” 🤣 but anyway, I did well! I’m really happy it was cracktastic “from head to toe” lololol I want to talk a little about the last stabbing scene. I’ve seen many opinions and I sort of see all the points made. For example, my first impression was exactly the same as yours. I felt they did it to tease us. I found it amusing because for a second I did think he died. I was annoyed because it would’ve been too typical for kdrama. So when we saw him alive, I was relieved but at the same thought “Hmmm was this necessary?”. Lady G tweeted the same. But then I read someone’s interpretation at Soompi (the person’s nick is bebesious…I forgot but all the credit to her) She interpreted this scene as the death of KPJ and rebirth of JEC. When a teenager JEC tried to kill himself, NMH saved him and then KPJ was “born” with a thirst for revenge. Since it was after NMH saved him that he decided to go on that quest, instead of “reuniting” with his family through death. And now when KPJ

Oops…I hit send before I finished. Well, Ill continue the idea. When KPJ “died” after getting stabbed, JEC is re-born. Liberated and free to start anew. Now, was it necessary since he had already done “karma cleansing” in jail? Maybe not, but I guess I can buy this explanation. My mom did feel it was overkill since KPJ had had so many near death encounters. So yeah, I think we all have a point 😋

Lol. You did way more than say, “Jang Hyuk is sexier than ever in this” but that statement really did carry a lot of weight! 😂 Thanks for getting me to watch this, it really was more amazing than I could have imagined. And Jang Hyuk is truly sexier – and more magnificent – than ever! ❤

That interpretation of the stabbing, that it was JEC's rebirth, makes sense! I do wish, though, that Show had alluded to it a little more obviously. I mean, it was over and done with so quickly, that it felt almost redundant. If they'd been clearer about that intention, I think lots more people would've reacted differently to the stabbing scene. 😛

So that was a quick read. Why? You ask. Because I skipped all the Spoiler Alerts. I have been burned by revenge Melos too. I can say with all sincerity it is my LEAST liked K-drama genre. But you have me intrigued and I have added this to my short list. I will let you know what i think. Thank you as always for your excellent work – what little of it I could read. Hehe.

Lol. Yes, I can see how this would’ve been a quick read for you, if you were ninja-skipping all the spoilers, Amy! 😂 I feel you, I am exactly the same. Revenge melos are my least liked kdrama genre as well. And YET, I loved this one. So I’m super glad that you’re adding this to your shortlist to check out. I’d love to know how you like it, when you do get to it! 😀

As expected, another wonderful review, and of a complex show to boot. I can’t seem to manage even one full sentece these days, so I’m ever so impressed with these detailed write-ups you do. 🙂

Had I watched Money Flower some years ago, I would probably have been all over it. I mean, how often do you come across a well constructed Korean revenge story? Now… well, I gave up after ep 4 as I realised I had NO interest what so ever in watching bunch of awful people doing horrible things to one another. No matter how well acted the characters were. Guess I’m officially off revenge, ha.

Aw, thanks for your kind words Timescout! I guess this show inspired me extra, seeing as how I almost never seemed to run out words in this review! 😂

It’s too bad this one didn’t stick for you, since I was genuinely impressed and surprised by how much I did like it. If you gave it a 4-episode go and it didn’t work for you, you were probably wise to drop it. Dropping is always way better than rage-watching, I find! 😝 I don’t know if I am into revenge dramas now myself, but I guess I’m more open to the genre now than before. (Don’t hurt me now, Dramaland!)

Sigh. I struggle at writing even on the best of days now and then I got the blasted flu, which totally took the wind out of my sails. Still recovering.

I don’t have any problems with the “oldies” like Resurrection or Mawang but can’t seem to be able to connect with the newer revenge dramas. It feel that the characters tend to have no redeeming qualities, just overall horrible. Whereas in the older dramas they were more on the ‘very flawed but still human’ variety. 🙂

Oh, so sorry to hear you’ve got the flu, Timescout!! I feel your pain; I’ve had some terrible flus – and viral infections too – in the last year or so, and they are AWFUL to get through. I think it’s admirable that you’re still functioning, despite being under the weather! Do feel better soon, my friend ❤

I saw Mawang pretty early in my kdrama journey, and couldn't connect with it, unfortunately 😛 I was ALLL about the cute fluff for quite a while, heh. Largely because of that, basically every older revenge melo I've seen, I haven't liked. Even Story Of A Man, which so many folks raved about, didn't land very well for me. And then, the more recent revenge melos didn't stick well with me either; I didn't like Nice Guy very much, which is a show that most drama fans seemed to love. Which is why I'm really stunned to have loved Money Flower. For me, the key characters did come across as flawed but human.. but perhaps they weren't human enough for your mood or preference 🙂 I've had Resurrection on my "someday" list for a long time, but haven't gotten around to it. Mostly, it's because I want to see where UhmForce got his nickname 😉

Ah, I’m already back to work but it tends to tire me out, so I’m not up to much when I get home. At least mine was a milder version of the flu, I shudder at the thought of having got the full blast of it.

And I started out with the heavy, darker stuff. Cute fluff has never really been my thing. 😁 I’m not sure when I started disliking the Korean revenge dramas, probably a gradual thing. I used to love them, even the more grim ones. 🤔 Resurrection is great, though flawed in places. It’s definitely couple of episodes too long for one. Yup, UhmForce brought his A game. 😁

Good to know that you’re feeling better, Timescout! But yeah, those things can take a while to really blow over, so do take it easy for now!! ❤

Haha! Yes, I do get the impression that cute fluff wasn't ever really your thing. If you DO end up watching a cute fluffy show, it's the very rare, occasional thing indeed! 😉 I guess we all go through phases in our drama journeys.. Even though I used to be ALLL about the cute fluff, I find that I don't take to them as easily these days. As in, not any random cute show is going to float my boat; it's gotta actually have something solid going for it, or I get bored fast. Maybe a similar thing happened with you and Korean revenge melos..? 🤔 As for Resurrection.. I've got it stashed away already, for the day I'm finally in the mood for it. UhmForce bringing his A game sounds promising indeed 😉

Yup, we all go through phases. Our preferences and tastes tend to evolve over the years too. What looked tasty as a drama noob doesn’t necessarily look so palatable anymore when you’ve got enough drama mileage behind you. *g*

One last shout-out for Resurrection.^^ It’s basically an avenger origin story about a nice and upright lad turning to the darker side for revenge and how it affects him. And ultimately those around him. It’s not as dark as e.g. Money Flower and there are some truly good people in it too. Our avenger lucked out that way. 🙂 The leading lady got a bit too weepy for my taste but that wasn’t enough to spoil the overall quality of the drama. Not for me anyway. UhmForce looks mighty spiffy in them suits…

That’s so true!!! I mean, I remember clearly that I freaking LOVED Secret Garden when it aired, but now, I can’t even get through E1. I tried, and really disliked what I saw, eek. 😱

Heh. Resurrection lost a point in my head at “weepy leading lady” – but gained back 2 points at “UhmForce in spiffy suits” 😂😂 It sounds like it’s got a more human touch than say, Nice Guy, and that does appeal to me. Thanks for the prod, Resurrection has inched up the list thanks to you! ❤

One more for the road… 😃 Resurrection does have a pretty human touch to it. E.g show doesn’t try to demonise anyone. Appart from the gangsters the baddies, including the “big bad”, are just people, each with their own reasons for doing the things they do. And the reasons are rather mundane, which imho makes it all the more chilling.

The supporting cast is great, my faves being the fanboying secretary and the cool private detective. 😀 I also liked the 2nd leading lady. She may have looked frail but was actually pretty spunky. I lowkey shipped her with one of the detectives, ha.

Can’t close off without UhmForce can I. *g* He pretty much plays 3 characters and quite convincingly too.

Heh. You just have this way of describing dramas to me, that makes me intrigued! I’m pretty sure that’s a talent in and of itself. I am now properly interested in giving Resurrection a go, the next time I have an urge to check out an older show. Thank you! You really do help to color my drama world. ❤

Yes! So very glad you watched and thanks to Drama Fan for lighting the fire for this one. This drama was excellent and your review is so spot-on – all the things I felt but cannot express. Jang Hyuk was superb in this – just out-standing. In my opinion his finest role to date. Best cliffhangers ever and the music served them to us on a silver platter. Huge props to the composer/s. Sitting here writing this and listening to the OST.

There were times during certain scenes that I imagined I heard electricity crackling. The scene in episode 3 when Boo Cheon tells Pil Joo he is going to sleep with Mo Hyun is one of the top scenes that stuck out for me as well (and there were oh so many!). Did you check out that slight flush which appeared and disappeared on Jang Hyuk;s face? No words necessary – so much was conveyed in those few seconds! Loved Grandfather’s face at Pil Joo’s reveal – priceless. So good I watched just that scene a few times (I so enjoyed GrandPa being bested by Pil Joo – and that single tear!)

I also enjoyed the relationship between Pil Joo and Yong Goo and I wish may we could have gotten a little more info on that bond. I also felt that the connection was too strong to do a simple break.

The entire production was like being on a huge luxury liner with a vast ocean underneath roiling and churning. It felt dangerous, deep, exciting and full of hidden mystery and intrigue. I sincerely appreciate that you made a comparison to NIF in this review as I myself had those very same thoughts.

KFangurl – you write so beautifully and concisely and this review is no exception. Bravo to you on this fine review and Bravo to the entire production crew of this drama. It has made it into my top 5 drama list of all time.

Me too! I’m not big on historical dramas, though i love Hong Kong Palace Dramas. I think it’s the Korean Sageuks I’m not a big fan of. But Kfangurl gave NIF so many glowing reviews and mentions I will have to dive into it soon.

Yes please, ladies – please do give NIF a chance. It’s a different setting, but SO well made, SO brilliantly written, and just SO GOOD. There’s no Pil Joo in it, but the central character is a brilliant strategist too. 😉

WELL. If you like brilliant strategists, then I have a feeling you’ll love NIF, once you actually get to it. Coz not only is the central strategist excellent, the show itself is brilliantly and very carefully written. No details go forgotten, and it all comes back to support the central plot. As a writer, I think you’d appreciate that extra! 😀

YAY!! SO PLEASED that you’re putting NIF on your schedule this week! 😀 It took me about 4 episodes to get a better sense of who’s who and what’s what, but once I got past that, everything steadily sucked me in. I was very impressed with NIF’s management of dramatic tension as well. Wave upon wave of excitement, with only a very brief lull at around the E30 mark, if memory serves. 🙂

I think you’d be pleased with the handling in NIF. Nothing feels gratuitous in it. But yes, the cast is sprawling, so you will probably need some time, to remember characters and how they’re connected.

I’d be happy to help with who’s who stuff! 😀 Also, I happened to watch it on Viki, and had the comments turned on. That helped, coz other commenters were asking and answering who’s who stuff at similar points. That might be a way to go about it, at least until you’ve got everyone straight in your head? 🙂

Ah! I’m so glad you felt so similarly about Money Flower, phl!! 😀 The OST really is stand-out amazing, and utilized so perfectly! 😍😍😍 ALL the folks involved in the music for this show deserve an award. ❤

Hi5 that the scene in E3 stood out for you too!! I was so amazed by Jang Hyuk's delivery of the scene that I had to go back and rewatch it. Those few seconds are absolutely breathtaking. And YES, that momentary flush! How does he DO that???

I so agree, I would've loved to have known more about the relationship between Pil Joo and Yong Goo. The only indication we get, is the mention Yong Goo makes, that Pil Joo had washed his pants or something. So I surmise that they might've met as kids in foster care of some sort, and Pil Joo must've taken care of him. Given that, it just felt so wrong, that Yong Goo would cut ties with Pil Joo.. That didn't feel organic to these characters, I felt.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your luxury liner analogy, that is SO PERFECT! ❤ And hi5 AGAIN, that we felt the NIF similarity with this one! We're like drama soulmates, almost 😘

Thank you for your kind words on the review, it's always such an encouragement, to know that the reviews are well-loved! ❤ THANK YOU!

Hi there, V! 😀 I used to avoid melos too, but have since developed an appreciation for them coz sometimes they can be really good! But even while I grew to enjoy melos, I never seemed to be able to get into revenge melos – even the ones that other people raved about. Which made me rather skeptical that I would like this one. But against all my expectations, I LOVE IT. Long story short.. maybe you might like this one? 😉 Jang Hyuk is so brilliant in this! I mean, I always knew he was awesome, but he really surpassed my expectations – and then some. ❤

You know I love me some revenge dramas! Even if in my reality I don’t pursue revenge and wouldn’t on that level! This is your most exquisite review to date. You’ve voiced nearly all my opinions. Right down to the 1000 voice recordings! Unless South Korea has some super special Samsung, and it’s possible he put in a storage chip that can hold TB’s, it’s still a stretch.

Then again, we know how conversations go in Kdrama – “Let’s meet. We need to talk” – Drives across the country – Orders a delicious coffee/espresso/milkshake/cake/Juice that will go untouched – sits down – everyone stares – says maybe 3 sentences each – and someone storms out. I think you can hold a 1000 messages that way…

I love your thoughts on all the characters, particularly Pil Joo and Jang Hyuk’s masterful performance. He’s always striving to do better. I think he’s reached his peak here. The rest will come with age and maturity, that will add gravitas to his roles.

I think the 2 young actresses were the weakest links, partly because they were expected to act 10 – 15 years older than their actual ages. And the mistress was so smug and pouty. urrrkkk! But we aren’t supposed to like her too much so I guess she did her job.

Mo Hyun did border on bland and spacey. But those moments she pulled her tricks felt satisfying. That long droning speech to Pil Joo at the end just nearly destroyed me, I was like shut up and KISS! LOL. But alas, build me up buttercup, and you get nothing. But I’m kidding, I understand their relationship by the end was one of respect, possibly friendship, and left open for a future.

“Essentially, watching this drama felt like watching a very languidly seductive, sensuous dance.” – That’s a perfect description of Money Flower. Between the music, the clothing, and the sheer elegance of nearly every character and it has that dark and sinister undercurrent flowing through it. Like a forbidden dance.

HAHA at your scenario, of the 1000 conversations Congressman Na recorded! 😂 Although, I'd like to think that the conversations were more important than 3 sentence type things. Otherwise it would feel like such an anticlimax, to think that all that important evidence boiled down to nothing more than "we need to talk" 😂

You're right, I do think the 2 younger actresses were weak links. It felt like the more seasoned actors were acting circles around them. I found Mo Hyun so uninteresting, and Seo Won so one-dimensional. Sometimes her actions didn't make sense. Like the way she sauntered into Mooshimwon and confronted Mo Hyun. She looked spiteful and not one bit scared when she did that, but later, she explained to Boo Cheon that she was so terrified coz she felt her life was in danger. Um. I couldn't connect the dots there; it just didn't fit, to me. If she WAS terrified, she didn't look it. One way or another, the delivery of the character should have indicated the underlying emotion, and this just didn't happen here.

Nonetheless, this was a treat to watch. As you said, so elegant, so dark, and so forbidden. So well done, overall. ❤

You’re right about Seo Won, her character was very uneven. And no matter how many times her life was threatened she kept putting her self and her son in danger. And they dropped the whole ball with Mo Hyun taking Boo Cheon’s child in. But I guess they dropped it because since grandpa said over his dead body that child will get in the house. So that was quashed.

I was so looking forward to Yong Goo’s threat to burn Mooshimwon to the ground. When he said that so matter-of-factly, I thought it was foreshadowing. Then later, it was HIS house and secret bat cave that got burned!! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

They could’ve lengthened the stabbing scene, maybe have Pil Joo in another coma, and Yong Goo’s ready to carry out his deed, but then PJ wakes up…that probably sounds like overkill too. lol.

All the good aspects overpower the bad in this drama, so it’s hard to find anything to complain about. It’s funny, I don’t see myself rewatching it. Maybe because it’s on a different level, there’s not enough cute and squee for a rewatch, but yet it’s definitely a new favorite. ♥‿♥

I’ve felt that way about a few dramas lately, I’ve added them to favorites, but because of their dark themes it’d be hard to rewatch.

I’m actually planning a rewatch very soon! Since I don’t think this drama is that dark? Maybe because of the ending. After a full rewatch I’ll probably only rewatch favorite scenes as I usually with Jang Hyuk dramas. But there are enough favorite scenes that it’ll be almost like a full rewatch 😋. Anyway, I wanted to mention that coincidentally , before I read Lady G’s comment, I used the word exquisite to describe this blog post when I attempted to reblog it on Stuck on Hyuk but then I realized the reblogging didn’t work so I deleted my comment. But that goes to show that exquisite is the best word to describe this post and the blog in general ❤️

PS: It's weird that the reblogging didn't work, because other people have reblogged other posts on this blog and it's worked ok. Perhaps try refreshing the page and try again? Thanks for wanting to share this post! 😘

Thanks for sharing the link! I just checked out the site – the site creator’s got a funny sense of humor! Loved the “shrug-whatever-I-don’t-care” sort of vibe in the remarks at the very bottom of the page. 😆

D’aw!! You are so sweet! 😍 Y’know, you contribute to the blog too, so that makes your work exquisite too 😉

You’re so right about Seo Won putting her son in danger! I mean, don’t mothers instinctively work to keep their children out of danger? But she goes and saunters into Mooshimwon anyway, wearing her most pouty, annoying expression. That just didn’t feel believable to me.

Yeah, there are so many other ways that Show could’ve fleshed out some of its threads, like with Yong Goo, or the stabbing scene. But overall, it’s such a good drama that I can’t nitpick too much.

I know what you mean about not instinctively reaching for this as rewatch material. Usually, with rewatches, I tend to reach for sweeter, lighter stuff. On the other hand, I’ve watched Chuno twice, and loved it more on the second watch. So I don’t rule out watching this one again myself. I might fast forward through at least some of Seo Won’s scenes though, heh.

And even after she goes waltzing in, later she’s ready to give this whole big press conference and again puts her son at risk. Ughh.

I can see myself rewatching for the “Pil Joo outsmarts everyone” scenes. heehee. I admit to rewatching the PJ fight scenes because Jang Hyuk is a fluid, precise, powerhouse. I’ve seen Chuno twice too. I generally just don’t rewatch dramas period because there’s always something new and different out there that will grab my attention. So many many dramas, so little time. And I’ve rewatched when I got my sister into kdrama.

Oh but of course! Your dream dramas are in their own special league – not everyone has the creativity and skills to birth stories and bring characters to life!

I would totally rewatch this for the “Pil Joo outsmarts everyone” scenes! And ALL of the “Jang Hyuk is hawt” scenes. 😍 And YES, the fight scenes ARE so rewatch-worthy! Each time Pil Joo got to kick ass, I found myself rewatching the scene right away. Jang Hyuk is just too good at the fighting; I can’t get enough. ❤ He takes them down so quickly that it's over before I know it, lol. But I guess that's the whole point: he's that formidable and efficient.

I rarely rewatch dramas nowadays as well.. My watch list is a mile long, and there are so many dramas I'm curious to check out. It's a rare occasion when I'll make time for a rewatch. But sometimes, it's the rewatches that really hit the spot when nothing currently airing does. Ha. So I basically save my rewatches for drama slumps and drama droughts. 😂

Well I think Jang Hyuk “fake danced” quite ok for Dance of the Dragon (not a good movie at all but he was very cute in it) He has a certain fluidity in his movements being a JKD practicioner and all. I found his dorky “dancing” in Robbers adorable too. I think if I role requires it he can learn to dance decently because if he wasn’t naturally inclined he is that persistent. Ok now I want a dance drama with Jang Hyuk lol

OH YES, he DID fake-dance for Dance of the Dragon! I thought he did pretty alright with the fake-dancing. And you’re very right, he IS, er, very good with his body. Ahem. 😋 I bet Pil Joo would be a good dancer. I mean, he’s like good at everything after all, right?? 😍

I’ve got Beautiful Mind on my list. I struggle with medical dramas as a general rule, probably about as much as I tend to struggle with revenge melos, ha. So if Jang Hyuk could make me love a revenge melo in Money Flower.. maybe I might enjoy Beautiful Mind after all? 😉

I’d say give it some time so you can put some distance between Piljoo and Lee Young Oh (JHs character in Beautiful Mind) Piljoo can make anyone look unsexy next to him :p in that aspect, that’ll be a hard to top performance. However, Beautiful Mind as a drama and Lee Young Oh as a character are brilliant in their own way. LYO is also super smart and has heart (even though he supposedly has an inability to feel emotions) Take your time, but give it a chance. It really is much more than just a typical medical drama.

Ooh! That’s VERY good advice, thanks DF!! You have an excellent point. I am so enamored with Pil Joo right now, I don’t think another character would stand a chance. I’d probably want to just quit the watch and go back to Money Flower, just to get more Pil Joo on my screen. 😝 It’s probably wise to give it some time before I check out Beautiful Mind. And yes, 14 episodes is pleasantly short, for a kdrama!

Great review Kfangurl! I couldn’t have express it better. I’m so glad Jang Hyuk has accepted this role. He has expressed it all in this drama – intelligent, charismatic, sexy, controlled yet revealing through his eyes. He’s just wonderful!

I’m glad you enjoyed the review, HyukFan!! 😀 I’m with you, I’m SO glad Jang Hyuk accepted this role.. This role showcased his talent SO WELL, and he’s just brilliant, in every single scene. I simply couldn’t get enough. ❤

I think the ending is more prominent if he just express to BOD something like “Hello, I’m Jang Eun Cheon”. I’m waiting for that you know since he gave PJ name to the owner. It kinda like a new beginning. But, so far it’s been a good drama.

This is not a type of drama I usually watch… but Money Flower sucked me in and I was glued to the screen from the first episode till the last one. There were only few things I didn’t like (and the stabbing towards to final episode was one of them, did they originally planned it as en episode cliffhanger and then didn’t edit it out? It felt so out of place…). The story, the twists, the acting, the visuals and music… all was great.

I also liked the general ending… not only the culprits were punished, but Pil Joo managed to stop this chaebol generation ruling and start a professional management. And indeed, that he decided to apply for the CEO at the end was just the cherry on top 🙂

Anyway, thanks for the read, your analysis is again great!

PS Pil Joo was chic and smart and smexy… but I think my favourite character was Boo Cheon. I often felt like he was a lamb surrounded by wolves… and when he was hit one by one with the revelations of the horrible things his family did or planned to do, my heart was bleeding… I also liked the relationship between him and Pil Joo and I believe they truly loved each other (I was scared that their ending would be tragic… but luckily it wasn’t and the ending gave me hope that not all was lost).

I was a total KPJ and JBC shipper! I loved that conflicted bromance. My hear broke a little that they decided to become strangers but I have hope that their smirk at the end means they’ll find each other again 😋 I never saw the actor playing JBC before but I enjoyed his performance very much.

I happened to watch the actor who played Boo Cheon, in The Package. Unfortunately, he played a self-centered bad ex-husband in that, and when I realized he was also playing Boo Cheon, I had to work extra hard to not be extra prejudiced against Boo Cheon. Which was a little bit hard, considering Boo Cheon started the show doing some pretty selfish stuff. 😛

Thanks for enjoying the review, Dorotka! I know what you mean, Money Flower is SO not the type of drama that I usually watch. And yet, it sucked me right from E1, when I didn’t even really understand what was going on. It just sucked me in viscerally.

Boo Cheon was a pretty sympathetic character by the end, I agree. I believe Boo Cheon had truly believed in Pil Joo, and so he must have been shattered to realize that Pil Joo was not what he seemed. I feel like Pil Joo felt sorry for Boo Cheon, for being his mother’s son, but his focus on revenge was so great that he used Boo Cheon anyway, just like he loved Mo Hyun, but used her anyway. I feel like Pil Joo literally denied himself the luxury of having personal feelings, in the quest for revenge. I personally don’t see Boo Cheon reconciling with Pil Joo, because as much as Boo Cheon loved Pil Joo, Boo Cheon also loved his mother, despite all her crazy twisted scheming. And I think that is what would prevent Boo Cheon from making peace with Pil Joo. I personally feel like a distant truce is the maximum that Boo Cheon’s conscience would allow him.

Just finished this drama last night and am sitting reading the comments. I felt the same about BuCheon. He had his own innocence like MoHyun had hers. His change of character though once he found out PJ’s true identity and the threat he felt from that was chilling. Still there was that child like dependence on PJ that so often came out despite his bravado.

Han Chae Ah was originally supposed to play Mo Hyun. I really like her and it makes me wonder how she’d have handled the role, she is more age appropriate for the bulk of the drama after the 5 year gap and her affect is different. She always comes off as more street smart/wordly in her roles, even if she’s the innocent one. She has a tougher look. She might’ve added a little more depth.

Oh, that’s intriguing! I wasn’t following casting news for Money Flower, so I had no idea that Han Chae Ah was originally supposed to play Mo Hyun! That would be interesting indeed. I remember her having a lot of screen presence in Gaksital. I’d have loved to see what she would have done with Mo Hyun as a character!

I remember the first announcement about them working together again and i was so excited. But then when they cast Park Se Young, I was still kind of happy because I felt she had good chemistry with JH in Beautiful Mind and i liked her. So for me it worked out both ways. But I’m still not quite over having no real OTP in Money Flower, but I can live. lol

Not all stories need that. I was brainwashed by kdramas from the beginning to expect it. But I sense a shift in writing and story telling for the better with Kdrama, and lately not everything is incumbent on the romance or OTP.

I second your sense of the shift in writing in dramas.. it seems that it’s not ALWAYS about the OTP now, which is really great. I mean, I love me a good romance and all, but it can get ridiculous when EVERYTHING has to be about the romance – even in medical or police dramas! 😆 Like Doctors. It was just set dressing for the romance. Which just made everything else feel so pointless.

I know HCA is a decent actress. I do remember her screen presence in Gaksital. But, she actually did a drama with Jang Hyuk and unfortunately it was a very frustrating one. They were in Gaekju, she was the female lead but both played really dull characters. They kissed the most boring way, made love, had a baby etc and still had NO chemistry. Maybe it was the characters but it made me completely unenthusiastic about them as a couple. With Park Se Young, however, they’ve always had an interesting “tension”. I really enjoyed their love/hate dynamic in Beautiful Mind and did feel their love in Money Flower even though it was left as platonic. Too bad there wasn’t a good kiss but in their case I think I would’ve loved it. I am a actually very pleased with Park Se Young’s performance. It’s true the character was a bit hard to understand sometimes but it took a special kind of person to keep her composure after she found herself in the middle of such toxic environment. I felt her as strong and dignified even if yes, occasionally, puzzling. I’m not sure if another actress could’ve convinced me as much. I think Park Se Young is good at expressing innocence but also show a good degree of quiet classy badassery. So yeah, I like her.

Oh, that’s so interesting, that HCA and JH had no chemistry in Gaekju! I guess you never can tell with chemistry, until you put two actors together. I would’ve imagined their chemistry to be pretty interesting. But of course, I didn’t see Gaekju nor Beautiful Mind, so I have no basis for comparison, between these actresses and their respective chemistry with Jang Hyuk. 🙂

Gosh, I wonder too! Perhaps they would’ve sparked more if the show had called for it, or maybe they just don’t spark together, period. 🤔 In any case, I’m glad they didn’t use Money Flower as an experiment to find out! 😅

Thanks for enjoying the review, Sean! 😀 And YES, this show is pretty special, isn’t it? ❤ What a ride, even though the ending could have been handled slightly differently. Still, it's the most solid ending I've come across in my limited history of watching revenge melos, so it's more than I expected, to be honest!

This is such an excellent review and it expresses all my feelings about Jang Hyuk’s acting and the entire show that I haven’t been able to describe so that people understand how I feel about it (especially the last 15 minute of the final episode).

This review is so good that I can almost (but not quite) excuse the blasphemous Chuno comments.

Tee hee! Your comment made me giggle, beez!! 😂 I feel you about Chuno, I’ve always thought that Chuno was Jang Hyuk’s best work, and that nothing could ever top it. But I must admit that Money Flower’s made me think twice.. I do feel that with the time that has passed since Chuno, that Jang Hyuk’s now drawing from a deeper and more mature reservoir of emotion and experience than before. I feel an increased depth and gravitas to his delivery, and that’s what’s causing me to say that this performance quite possibly tops his performance in Chuno. Of course, Chuno is its own masterpiece, and that’s a whole other conversation 😉

i watched this based on reading part of your review. i thought it was excellent and give it 10/10.
I disagree with you in that i thought that both Jang Hyuk and Park Se-Young were excellent. AT first, she was just just okay, but once she started showing some steel, for me her acting got way better. I was reminded of Edward Norton in Primal Fear, in the way performance changed.
It took me a recognise how good Jang Seung-Jo was. I think it was his laughing put me off. It didn’t convince me; But when that calmed down, i began to recognise how talented he is.The other performance that stoood out for me was Joe Byeong-Gyu as the younger version of the character played by Jang Hyuk. Overall, theacting ranged from okay to pretty good. Perhaps Im Do-Gyoo was a bit weak.
Then there was (for me) the slightly odd performance of Lee Hang-Na (at least that’s wn Jang Hyuk, and Jang Seung-Jo, But there looks as if there is about 10. The latter doesn’t look any older than the actor who plays a younger version of him. The same goes for ho i think it was.). It was the lady playing Lee Soon-Jae’s companion, wife, or whatever she was. Her character seemed out of place in the drama. But i’m not saying that’s a bad thing. The best way i can put is. she is a vegetable in a tin of mixed fruit. i couldn’t make out if her performance was good or bad. i’ll have to investigate her in something else,
my favourite part of the drama were the cat and mouse encounters between Jang Hyuk and Lee Soon-Jae. Even though the latter was a descipable villain, I couldn’t help but laugh, when he got the upper hand
Thanks for mentioning the discrepancy in shooting between how it appeared in both episodes.
Another thing i had a problem with was Jang Hyuk’s character’s treatment of the character played by Han So-Hee. He threatens her by almost choking her. He gives her bribery Amoney. He saves her life, and idicates that she can tell tales if she wants to. How far was he prepared to go, when he was choking her. Did he just think, that if he showed what he was capable of, that she would take fright and run. But he never would have killed her. i guess the choking scene was to show how far the main character was willing to go to get his revenge. But when he saves her, or even more, when he says, she can do what she wants, it negates the ruthless characteristics, we are supposed to believe he is.

Pil joo’s entire character was a facade. He was not a killer despite his plans for revenge. His choking of Seo won was to save her life but she was too dumb or naive or greedy to get the message, even after being threatened by Mal ran and after seeing an actual masked killer coming for her.

I’m glad you enjoyed Money Flower, Martin! 🙂 And yes, those cat and mouse encounters between Pil Joo and Chairman Gramps was one of the highlights of the show for me as well. 🙂 In terms of Pil Joo’s behavior with Seo Won, I agree with beez; I saw it as Pil Joo giving Seo Won a way out, without blowing his own cover. He showed her mercy time and again, and like beez said, it was Seo Won who refused to understand.

Edit of the bit that made no sense.
Then there was (for me) the slightly odd performance of Lee Hang-Na. It was the lady playing Lee Soon-Jae’s companion, wife, or whatever she was. Her character seemed out of place in the drama. But i’m not saying that’s a bad thing. The best way i can put is. she is a vegetable in a tin of mixed fruit. i couldn’t make out if her performance was good or bad. i’ll have to investigate her in something else.

So agree with all you’ve said about Money Flower, kfangirl! This is hands down THE BEST of The Best of the revenge dramas! From the execution of the screenwriting to the acting ….Superb is a shallow word to describe it. Can you tell I loved this drama? It had me on my feet screaming “don’t die”, “NOOOO”, “will you please kiss her”!
I’m disappointed you didn’t mention Jang SeungJo and his amazing portrayal of BuCheon. I felt the chemistry between JangHyuk and he was on a par with JangHyuk and Lee MiSook. JSJ was seldom off the screen and proved himself capable of standing with the acting skills of JH without looking like he was in a school play. You mentioned how PilJoo looked at MalRan…often he gazed at BC the same way. I find him a delightful cross between Kim Jaejoong and Ji Chang-wook. And that is saying something!
Let’s talk about the sexual tension between PJ and MR. It was quite obvious he seduced her often in his approach toward her. At the beginning I felt he was only toying with her to keep her interested in him on more than just a business level. But when the door closed after she took his hand….I was a bit taken aback that he would prostitute himself to that extent for his revenge. But on second thought….his hatred for her was so immence that I believe he could make love to her in order to complete her distruction when she found out who he was. He seduced her so Completely before he told her his identity. Note the girlish laugh she gave. Loved your description of that encounter! Can we say an intimate betrayal is more soul crushing than a business betrayal? I also would have liked for her to have been ‘in her right mind’…but I guess the insanity was part of her redemption. KDrama writers very often do give the foulest character some measure of redemption. Thank you writer-nim for the masterful ending!
On to the next KDrama…..after I recover from Money Flower. Chuno perhaps?

@Georgia Peach – interesting take on who seduced whom. I’ve always thought Mal ran was the seducer of a young, teenaged Pil joo as we see with her chauffeur that’s her method to use men to get what she wants. I pictured young Pil joo being surprised but going along with it (hey, he’s a teenager and she is beautiful) as it fit into his plan and he would be the ultimate user between them.

Yes, beez, PJ the ultimate user between then. My comment…an intimate betrayal trumps a business betrayal. Still, I can’t quite get in touch with the mentality or hate it took for him to have sex with her. I kept saying to PJ all through the drama….you’ll have NOTHING left of yourself when you finally get your revenge. Think that’s why I found the end of the drama satisfying. Love, love, loved this drama! Off to watch Chuno.

kjt, something is going on with how the blog sends others ‘ comments to my email lately. I can see the comment they’re replying to but not the actual text of the new comment itself until I hit “reply” which brings me into the blog and I can search for the latest comment from that person and read it here.

Hey beez, WordPress Support came back to me and requested for some screenshots of the issue that you’re experiencing. At the moment, they suspect that it has to do with your browser or email client. Would you mind emailing me some screenshots, so that I can forward them to the Support guys? Thanks! 🙂

@kfangurl – of course. My trash had already cleaned out stuff before March 19th but I was able to find a couple of instances. Where should I email the screen shots to? I can forward the actual emails as well.

@GeorgiaPeach – I’m more jaded so I can easily understand Pil joo being able to sleep with Mal ran cause men can pretty much … (hmmm how do I say this and not be vulger?) … I can’t so I’ll leave it there with a wink and an elbow nudge. 😉

Beez, totally understand the wink and nudge. But if you practice always leaving your emotions out of everything you do…your soul and spirit are in danger. Didn’t MH express this to him at one point….his coldness. Goodness, this drama still holds my imagination!

Ahh! I’m so glad you enjoyed Money Flower too, Georgia! 😀 It really is so excellent, in so many ways.

As for Jang Seung Jo, I think that he did a very decent job of the role. I do feel that he isn’t as nuanced an actor as Jang Hyuk or Lee Mi Sook, and unfortunately, that made his delivery pale in comparison, to my eyes. I appreciated the layers that Show gave Boo Cheon the character, especially later in the show. While Jang Seung Jo portrayed Boo Cheon’s different moods well, I found that there wasn’t enough nuance. What I’m trying to say is, when Boo Cheon was wearing a dark expression, it was completely dark. And when he wore his cheerful carefree expression, it was completely light. There were no shades in between, where he demonstrated a more complex mix of emotion, and I found that a pity.

In terms of the sexual tension between Pil Joo and Mal Ran, that was indeed sizzling. As for who seduced whom, Show doesn’t spell it out. However, because Mal Ran is shown seducing Secretary Oh, and because she uses the exact same tactics with Pil Joo, I deduced that it was she who initiated the seduction with Pil Joo. Additionally, there is the context of her being the formal master in their relationship, and so, I can’t see Pil Joo making a move on her, unless she explicitly invited him to.

I love Chuno, and found Jang Hyuk MAGNIFICENT in it. 😍😍😍 Highly recommend, if you haven’t seen it! 😀

Kfangirl….agree JSJ is not the nuanced actor compared to JH or LMS, however, I was willing to give him the by on it because I felt the character he played did not have a nuanced personality. All BC ever wanted was the ‘simple life’….girls, cars, fine clothes with his inheritance . He had a very uncomplicated life style until he fell pray to the massinations of his mother and PJ. Still he was that simple personality…unable to go very deep into the snake infested waters of Cheong Ah and be a player.
I’m watching Shine or Go Crazy right now. There is brilliance from Jang Hyuk even in this drama. Chuno is by all means next!
MR most definitely was the seducer of PJ and very early on. But the night he told her of his identity…I’m with the impression he swapped roles…hence her delight in the invitation and the reactions to his seductive way. Brilliant, simply brilliant!

Oh, I actually had a pretty good time with Shine Or Go Crazy.. but the ending was kind of meh, and I never got around to writing it a review 😛 Chuno is TOTALLY worth the watch, it’s so brilliant. I hope you enjoy it, when you do get to it. And I totally agree, the night Pil Joo told Mal Ran his identity, there was definitely a distinct swapping of roles. He became the seducer, and oh, how mesmerizing he is, as the seducer! 😱😍

FG, I’ve reread my first comment….and I think I need to clarify what I meant by PJ seducing MR. He toyed with her on many levels. He was the touchable untouchable. Best example…when he stepped into her presence from the shower…wrapped in the towel. He often stared into her eyes and yet would not touch her. I’ve got to let this drama go!
Finished SOGC. Hated the ending. Gaebong should have at the left with some hint of sadness on her face! Poor Wang So pined for the rest of his life….

Georgia Peach – Pil joo in a towel !? Forbidden fruit toying with Malran!? I must’ve missed that (me and my falling asleep during dramas). Do you remember what episode? I’ll definitely go back and watch that!!

Once I rewatched the scene, I remembered it because I had the same thoughts again that it’s not the Chuno body. But I know that’s unfair cause he still looks darn good and I don’t look how I looked ten years ago either.

Oh yes – I do think that Pil Joo toyed with Mal Ran, in that sense. It’s not spelled out, but the sense I got was that he was completely aware of his personal power and the effect he had on her, and was unhurriedly biding his time and considering his hand, each step of the way. She thought she was in control, but he was the one who was the real puppet master.

Shine Or Go Crazy didn’t have a good ending, for sure. Which is a bummer, since the earlier stretch was very watchable. I hope you’ll enjoy Chuno more – it’s excellent, and Jang Hyuk is all swaggering magnificence in it. 😍😍

I have a habit of reading books by authors (once I find an author I like, I read all their books), and now I find that I also tend to watch dramas based on actors. I marathoned through Park Bo Gum’s dramas (after Answer Me 1988 and Moonlight, I watched Hello Monster, liked it but now PBG slightly gives me the creeps eek). I then bounced to School 2013 bc I recognized Jang Na Ra, which led ted Fated to Love You bc I liked the original Taiwanese version, which was were I came across Jang Hyuk (he was so kooky in it!). I remembered your positive review on Money Flower and decided to watch, even though revenge dramas aren’t really my thing either (didn’t make it through much of Nice Guy even though my sister raved about it). And now I’m a Jang Huyk fan lol.

Holy cow this was really good! Halfway through I realized show made me feel like I was watching a modern version of NIF. I loved how smart and resourceful Pil Joo was, and it’s awesome knowing he has layers upon layers of plans to carry out his revenge and I can just sit back and enjoy the unfolding. I loved the music building up near the end of each episode where you just knew something big was going to happen.

I also did not love Mo Hyun’s character or the actress, I think she was just needed to move the plot along and a lot of things she did didn’t really make a whole lot of sense to me. And the whole Mal Ran going crazy at the end was unsatisfying. I wasn’t quite sure if she was faking it to stay out of jail, but if she really did go crazy then it’s a big cop-out and she got off easy. But I did like how they resolved it for Pil Joo so that he had a future and left it open eded with Mo Hyun.

YES YES YES!!! Money Flower really does have a bit of a modern NIF flavor!! I mean, it’s very different in sensibility, with MF being all dark & sensuous and all, but there definitely is a similarity in how Pil Joo and Mei Chang Su are masters of the chessboards in front of them. ❤ And the music! My word, the music was absolutely one of the MVPs of this drama. So many times, I feel like the music took the scene to a whole other level. 😍

As for Chuno, absolutely do put it on your list. I always felt that Chuno was Jang Hyuk's most iconic work. Now I'm thinking that his level of nuance and mastery is slightly more brilliant here in MF, but his performance in Chuno isn’t far behind. My tip for Chuno is, don’t think of it as a love story, and more as a story of brotherhood and personal purpose. That makes all the difference. I first watched Chuno as a drama newbie and went in expecting a love story. Which meant that I ended up hating the story direction and ending. On my second watch, though, I’d adjusted my lens, and ended up completely overwhelmed and blown away. It is truly magnificent. ❤ And Jang Hyuk’s muscle definition in Chuno is nothing short of AMAZING. ❤

And @Owl Star…THEN after watching Chuno, come back and watch Fated to Love You again (be good to also watch Robber (if you can take it. It’s not for the feint at heart) and Thank You), you’ll get a hoot at all the small meta references to things from Jang Hyuk’s career throughout FTLY, including the music. Lots of times during FTLY’s crazier moments, the theme music from Chuno plays.

But I can’t say enough about Chuno. I disagree that Money Flower is a better performance. It’s a more nuanced performance and I also think that those of us who are Jang Hyuk’s fans are probably just excited to see a role come along that he could do justice to because his role in Chuno was so very good, so very intense, that we were just glad to see him in something worthy of his talents. At least that’s what I think is going on although it’s probably arrogant for me to say how others are processing or feeling something. I personally felt his performance in Beautiful Mind was equally as good as Money Flower.

But nothing surpasses Chuno for me.

WORD OF ADVICE: Do not watch The Great Merchant. Or, if you are like me, who watches EVERYTHING one of my biases has ever appeared in even of it’s bad, watch it once you’ve seen all of Hyukie’s other projects. Merchant suffers from bad directing, bad editing and HORRIBLE stupid writing. I can’t even describe how bad it is. It’s the opposite of everything I said Chuno is. It’s Anti-Chuno.

Thanks for the tip about JH’s other works. I do seek out shows with my biases but I also do a quick check on any reviews available before committing (one of the perks of only watching dramas that are done airing). What NOT to watch is just as important as what to watch… will steer clear of Merchant!

Hello fan girl
I’d like to suggest you some of my favorite dramas:)
I really liked your review and wanna watch money flower!
I’ve watched beautiful mind and liked it too
And now my suggestions are:
-Good doctor (it’s so cute and I really loved that joo won is such a great and professional actor that can play every character like Ma Jun or Lee Kang To and even autism Park Shi On )
-Gu Family Book (also I love Love Lee Seung Gi for his good character And his great acting)
There are more nice shows but i don’t remember right now but please please please watch these two and tell us your opinion obout them
Thank You So So Much of Your nice and Complete reviews:)

Hi there Night, thanks for enjoying this review! 🙂 Also, thanks for your suggestions. I’m sorry to say that I did try both Good Doctor and Gu Family Book in the past, but didn’t quite manage to get into either show. 😛 I guess they just weren’t my kind of show? On the upside, I do have Beautiful Mind still on my list! 😅

PS: I hope you do give Money Flower a try, it really is an excellent drama! ❤

The Good Doctor was good enough that they’ve made an American remake that’s on air now. I’m enjoying the remake but despite all the realism (two doctors in bed in the first episode with no Kdrama wondering about “did they or didn’t they?”), but the “K” version was better. Something about Joo Won pulled me in and I wanted all the other characters too love him like I did. (He’s NOT one of my biases. In fact, in every other role, he annoys me.)

The K version did not allow his autistic character to operate. He only consulted and came up with brilliant solutions. In the American version, his character participates in surgery. I have a friend who is a child development social worker and she won’t watch because she says it’s unrealistic that an autistic person would be allowed to operate. Realistic or not, both shows are good but the K version struck a chord in my heart. The A version does not.

I found I lost interest (became disappointed?) in the American version half way through the first season, which is a shame because it has some of my favourite actors in it.

On the plus side, the stories were recognisable and it does have real potential. I don’t know if I will take another look though. It’s probably the pick of the American medical dramas out there at the moment.

I’ve heard very good things about Good Doctor and Joo Won in it, and that’s why I gave it a try. I generally don’t enjoy medical shows, though, so that was an additional roadblock for me. I watched about 5 eps I think, and did like it quite well, though I wasn’t terribly into it. I think Life just got busy and it fell by the wayside very easily for me, because medical shows are just not my wheelhouse. I might go back to it sometime in the future, but that’s a very vague maybe, I must admit! 😛

Thank you for this article! Was watching “Wok of Love” for Junho, but got utterly blindsided by the charismatic, sexy AND funny second-lead character of Doo Chil Seong, played by Jang Hyuk. Which lead me to his “Money Flower” which I am now hooked on while waiting for the new episodes of “Wok of Love.” I have no patience for melodramas but with Jang Hyuk in it, will make the exception.

OMG I am SO HAPPY that you found your way to Money Flower, coz Jang Hyuk is AH-MAY-ZING in it! 😍😍😍 He truly is so charismatic and sexy, even more so in Money Flower than in Wok of Love, I think! I hope you enjoy Money Flower as much as I did! 😀

If you’d like something a little lighter, you could also check out Fated To Love You (review here). He got to exercise his comedic chops in that one, which also turned out to be a show that packed quite a good wallop of heart. 🙂 Of course, I can’t not mention Chuno (review here), coz he’s just amazing and so fantastic in that. ❤

And just in case you're up for some Jang Hyuk gazing, I thought you might like to check out this post too. Yes, I clearly do have a huge soft spot for Jang Hyuk, heh. 😍😍😍

For everyone here that said Chuno was a must watch…thank you so much! What a ride with Jang Hyun at the wheel! I loved every moment of the drama. Even without the ‘six packs’ this drama was perfectly acted by each performer. Wok Of Love will be marathon watched as soon as it is completed! So looking forward to it and a review from Fangirl.

Of course, I read your reviewof Chuno! And thank you for it. I don’t know of an actor here in the States that can bring the caliber of performance that JH brings to the screen. There is a presence in Money Flower and Chuno that rivets you to him. I’m in the process of getting to Beatiful Mind as well….
I will look forward to your view on Wok Of Love….read only after I watch it…😊

Aw, thank you for enjoying the Chuno review, Georgia Peach! I’ve got a huge soft spot for that review, because I was so mesmerized by Chuno as a whole, as well as Jang Hyuk in it. 😍😍 I absolutely agree on how riveting he is, especially when he’s allowed to play badass. ❤

I'm not sure if you've seen Fated To Love You? I didn't love all of it, but the emotional resonance that he and Jang Na Ra brought to the OTP did a lot to sweeten my watch experience. 🙂 Review is here, if you’d like to take a peek. 🙂

I’ve not watched FTLY. It is on my watch list with big JH letters beside it. I’m a huge sucker for OTPings that are memorable. So I’ll be sure to watch soon. Will do the review after I watch and will be sure to comment. I’m all alone in my drama watching….my friends aren’t interested …. I think they are idiots! LOL. It’s great to come here on your bog and spazz over a great drama watch!

Aw, you are always welcome to come spazz in these parts, Georgia Peach! 😀 I feel you, my friends aren’t all that interested in dramas either, so it’s great that all of my online friends spazz and discuss and analyze and debate more than enough to make up for it! 😉 Yay that you’ve got FTLY on your list! JH’s a little OTT in that show, because the show and the character call for it. But in spite of it all, he and Jang Na Ra manage to inject their characters and their relationship with so much emotional resonance and pathos, that they had me by the heart, by the end. ❤

@Georgia Peach
You said “Even without the ‘six packs’ this drama was perfectly acted by each performer.”
You started out talking about Chuno but you must’ve been talking about Money Flower at this point?
Cause Chuno is all about the choco abs! Although admittedly, once I can draw my eyes away from the abs – the story, the hubris, the bromance, the frenemies, the classic star-crossed lovers handled with no cheesy rose-colored glasses, *deep breath* but I could go on and on.

Oh! And how could I forget the main course – the tour de force performance of Jang Hyuk!

Like you say… it was hard to pay attention to the plot and performances with those stunning bodies running around all over the place….but the performances did..finally..win out. So classic Korean drama! Now on to the next Jang Hyuk!

Mo Hyun is the most unfortunate character in the drama. There are many people who said that she is manipulated into the marriage with the cheater, Boo Cheon. I have a different view. No one can force Mo Hyun to fall in love with Boo Cheon, the cheater if she does not want to. It is her own doing and weaknesses. In earlier episodes Mo Hyun has the chance to select Pil Joo or Boo Cheon she made the blunder and the greatest mistake of her life by selecting Boo Cheon especially Pil Joo have many occassions showed up for example at her scuba diving class to show his concern on her well being but rejected outright by Mo Hyun that she is not interested to see Pil Joo! Mo Hyun is simply too naive did not do her homework before selecting cheater, Boo Cheon to be her husband. I am sure if your prospective husband is a wealthy young guf from a very rich family surely you will do some investigation on his background. If she has done so she would have discovered Boo Cheon is a CHEATER who already has a existing pregnant girlfriend. Mo Hyun is so foolish.
Ultimately Mo Hyun paid a terrible high price when her marriage fails and she also suffered tremendously with two (2) miscarriages. Only then she realised that she should have selected Pil Joo but then Pil Joo has opened informed her that he no longer love her when he give her up to Boo Cheon. She desperately wants Pil Joo and wants him to leave the Jang family and go away with her. Many occassions she should her love for Pil Joo for example when Pil Joo was in coma she visited him every day. Sinmply it is too late for her . If only she has made the right choise at the beginning. Boo Cheon is really a cheater in additional to making her girlfriend pregnant which give birth to a boy he also made arrangement gor his girlfriend to go to Long Island in USA and continued to have relationship with her eventhough at that time he is already married to Mo Hyun.
Boo CHeon and Mo Hyun are staying at Long Island USA to look after their company business at USA.
Pil Joo certainly made a very wise decision not to be romantically linke to Mo Hyun eventhough Mo Hyun successfully lured him out of retirement to reenter the corporate world with the interview for the CEO position which Pil Joo (now known as Jang Eun Cheon) fully qualified for the position.. Not surprised he will find a new beautiful wife that does not carried past baggage and totally devoted to him. Afterall Pil Joo (now Jang Eun Cheon) is still handsome, very capable, smart and wealthy ( he should still have many shares in Cheong A company). Surely we do not want Pil Joo (now known as Jang Eun Cheon) to be tainted with any future political scandal (If any) IF he is romantically linked with Mo Hyun as Mo Hyun intends to enter into the dirty world of politics. STAY AWAY from Mo Hyun. Finally bravo Pil Joo is starting a new beginning as Jang Eun Cheon as he renters the corporate world in the last Episode.

@Fair – I have to point out that S. Korea is different from the west in that scandles for the VERY rich are not easily uncovered. (It’s bit the same as when Kpop idols go on a date *gasp* or get their girlfriend pregnant *S.K. has a virtual joint heart attack*). Chabeoul’s are a another breed with different rules than the rest of society. It’s not as if she could’ve Googled Baby Boo’s personal life. Heck, his own mother and family didn’t know he had a child outside his marriage. And remember the scenes where Pil joo would have stories pulled from the internet. I don’t know how that’s possible cause here, even if you pull it, SOMEbody has captured that thing before it disappeared! But S. Korea has their own separate internet (to my limited understanding) and a smaller population so I’m thinking that’s in the realm of possibilities that the internet can be controlled that way.

It is interesting with what you say regarding Pil Joo and Mo Hyun. Despite their respective set backs, they succeeded. Successful people in the main have the ability to pick themselves up and dust themselves off every time they fail. They learn from it and move on. I see both our leads very much in this category.

I took the ending of Money Flower to be one where Pil Joo set Mo Hyun free so that they could both go on and do what they needed to do. I think at some point Mo Hyun would intersect with Pil Joo and probably convince him that “she is the one”. But, I’m probably looking at things through rose coloured glasses 😀

Is Mo Hyun really so desperate to get into marriage. She married Boo Cheon the playboy and cheater after getting to know him for such a short period. I find that Pil Joo (Jang Hyuk) especially in a western suit is much more handsome and good looking than Boo Cheon. Certainly Mo Hyun could have seen that Pil Joo is a much competence person and calling the shots and Boo Cheon is a young guy relying heavily on Pil Joo. Mo Hyun could be attracted to Boo Cheon because at that time she Boo Cheon is the eldest grandson of the Jang family and will be a heir to the Jang business whereas Pil Joo is just a “watch dog” for the Jang family. Surely it must be a real shock to her when she eventually found out that Pil Joo is the real eldest grandson of Jang family whereas her husband, Boo Cheon is not even a Jang. Well she has to pay for making such a blunder for marrying into such a toxic family. In earlier episode her mother in law , Mal Ran called her stupid girl in episode 4 and never totally accepted her. Another matter is that Mal Ran can forgive her father for “SELLING” her to the Jang family but unable to do so for Pil Joo notwithstand Pil Joo have saved her & her father. Yes Pil Joo has manipulated the marriage between Mo Hyun and Pil Joo . But can we totally blame him for it. What about Mo Hyun ? is she totally absolve of any responsibility. What about Mo Hyun ‘s own parent role in this marriage of convenience. No one pointed a gun at Mo Hyun to force her to marry Boo Cheon. It is her OWN decision. So please do not 100% blame it on Pil Joo for it. I can safely say that the very painful high price she is paying and the miserable life she is facing is due to her own doing by selecting the wrong person to be her husband. Choosing Boo Cheon who already has a mistress and is a father to a son! I am very glad in the ending that Pil has a new beginning as Jang Eun Cheon , free of guilt and burden from the past and utimately let go of Mo Hyun. I hope that Mo Hyun will learn from the painful lessons and also let go of Pil Joo. B now she is not suitbale for Pil Joo. To each their own destiny. If only Mo Hyun has selected Pil Joo instead of Boo Cheon her life will be so much better. Nothing can be worst than marrying a cheater. What a blunder she made.

@Viewer- well, you’re certainly right that Moo Hyun must take responsibility for her own choices, and you’re also correct that Pil joo is not totally at fault, but he IS guilty of manipulating the situation. How much blame we each choose to allocate to the characters is our own choice, however, you seem to have gotten some timing of the events wrong which is coloring you’re viewpoint. You blame Moo Hyun for marrying a man with a mistress as if she was aware that he had one. Also, the show clearly showed us that Moo hyun was not interested in marrying for money. In fact, because of that, Pil joo had to go to great lengths to trick Moo hyun into falling for Baby Boo.

I come across Mo Hyun as someone that is very NAIVE and ClUELESS. Otherwise how can she is so easily “manipulated”into a marriage. What is the hurry to get marry and surely you would have done a background checking on your prospective life partner especially someone you get to know only recently and he is from a rich & powerful family . It is Mo Hyun own doing . Marrying a CHEATER is the worst thing that can happen to a woman. It ruin the life of a woman. Oh Mo Hyun……

Mo Hyun must be soo naive and foolish to fall under the tricks by Pil Joo.
Remember that Mo Hyun ‘s parents are also “selling” their daughter and sacrifying their daughter’s happiness for their selfish aim of obtaining political funding from Boo Choon’s family. So who is to be blamed for the disaster marriage life and suffering of Moo Hyun. Is it Boo Choon, the cheater ? Pil Joo ? The parents ? Yes there are many parties with vested parties influencing her but ultimately Mo Hyun makes her own final decision and she must be responsible for it. In the drama Mo Hyun is paying a very high price for the wrong decision with miscarriages and possbility could no longer give birth again, cheated, divorce, heartache realizing her real love is not her husband but another man whom she has a crush in childhood, etc. I think she realized her mistake of marrying the wrong person as she repeatedly slapped her ownself until Pil Joo stopped her when the sad story of her arranged marriage was finally revealed to her.

BTW the acting skill of Park Se -Young is extremely good given the complicated character of Mo Hyun.

I am convinced that at the end of the last episode Pil Joo known as Jang Eun Cheon and Mo Hyun have gone separate way. Mo Hyun is desperate to “catch” her man but Pil Joo now known as Jang Eun Cheon no longer has any interest in her. Probably this is how the scriptwriter would like the drama to end.

1) Mo Hyun realised that the person she really love is Pil Joo aka JEC and not her cheater husband. She even call out his name in her sleep ! In fact they have already met many years ago when both of them are still teenagers. Mo Hyun married Boo Cheon as she has lost all contacts with Pil Joo. When she was married to Boo Cheon she still has lingering feeling for him and evn kept some of Pil Joo’s personal belongings such as his pendant, book etc. Mo Hyun even took the initiative to tell Pil Joo that he does not owe her anymore since he has saved her father and her life and also helped them to take revenge on the Jang family so that they could move on with their their relationship. She has suffered so much at the hands of her cheater husband and mother in law. Just imagine two miscarriages. However all her attempts to rekindle with Pil Joo failed.
2) Pil Joo when out of the prison is adamant to start afresh. He has paid back all his debt to society & Mo Hyun (if any). After attending the interview for CEO for Cheong company they have showed the expression of Jang Eun Cheon. He looks so relief. Pil Joo has made the correct decision not to rekindle relationship with Mo Hyun. Mo Hyun has carried too many baggages from the past and it will make it very painful and difficult for Pil Joo to move forward and start afresh. One fatal mistake by Mo Hyun when she choose and marry a cheater and it virtually destroyed her happy life. What a blunder.

In conclusion Pil Joo (Jang Eun Cheon) is starting afresh with a new life in the corporate world and there is every signs that he will be a successful corporate figure with his proven records.. Whereas Mo Hyun will enter in the risky political arena as a rookie politician and whether she will successful no one knows as her own father a senior experienced politician also failed to gather enough votes. Best wishes.

@Snow Flower – Money Flower is a different type of intensity. It’s a subtle and slow burn. Almost opposite of Lee Dae gil’s energy. You see this character who has to hide his emotions from his enemies and yet let us, the audience, see what he’s feeling at and in that same moment. But the nuances in the performance and the acknowledgement of one actor being able to hit all the notes in the spectrum is what, I think, makes it stand out so for us Jang Hyuk fans. (But Chuno still stands as my most favorite.)

I agree with your comment. I was thinking about Jang Hyuk’s crying scenes in Chuno and Money Flower. They are so different, because the characters are different. I cannot think of any other actor with such intense presence.

@Snow Flower – There is one. I respect Jang Hyuk’s skills so much that I almost hate to say it but, it’s true. At least they’re from different generations – Yoo Ah in. As I see Jang Hyuk growing older and into more mature roles, Yoo Ah in brings the same intensity and presence for the next generation.

Totally agree about Yoo Ah In. I have seen him in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Six Flying Dragons, Secret Love Affair, and Chicago Typewriter. In each of these dramas he created unique and unforgettable characters. Another actor from the same generation whom I find consistently impressive is Byun Yo Han. I have been a fan since I heard him sing in Six Flying Dragons. He was excellent in a supporting role in Misaeng, and memorable in Mr. Sunshine. The next generation of leading actors is great!

Oh yes, Yo han. He’s surprised me especially after watching him in Misaeng I thought he couldn’t possibly bring the weight and gravatis as the best swordsman in SFD, but I was wrong. But for me, Yoo Ah in is in a class all his own. When I consider that he never weilded a sword in SFD and ran away leaving Moo wul to fight for him and yet I never felt he was a coward; I had to constantly remind myself to stop rooting for him and remember he’s a murderer of children (but oh, the charisma!); and despite his non physical action scenes, I was always on the edge of my seat with what he would do or say next. Then there’s The Veteran and The Throne. And his last scene in Chicago Typewriter. I can’t say enough about this young man.

Be prepared before you watch The Veteran. Yoo Ah in is the bad guy. I only recommend it to observe a great performance. (I didn’t particularly come away with anything else from the movie.) I believe The Veteran is the inspiration for Namgoong Min’s character in Remember, Son’s War.

This drama felt like a sageuk to me. The family/company dynamics could have easily come from the Joseon era. The family lived in a modern house, but one built in an old style. Grandpa chairman was dressed in hanbok most of the time. I can totally imagine a remake set 200 years earlier. Overall, masterful writing, directing, and acting, a must see!

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